1- The Clicking Noise when u power on the hard drive u will hear a noise like (click,click....click,click...click,click)this noise may be related to the head stack or PCB, the first thing you have to do is to check the PCB By The following steps:

1- first u have to clean the Whole PCB With a Solvent & Toothbruch then wipe it with a piece of smooth handkerchief to remove the dust & dirt from it.Caution: Cleaning of the PCB must be done carefully to avoid removal of any small electronic components.

2- Check the Resistor (R120) , [ the right value of this Resistor is (0.12 Ohm) ] ,u may adjust ur multimeter to Resistor Measuring Mode to Determine its Value ,if it's Damaged u have to replace it. but before that, u have to check Transistor Q3 , it's a 6 pins transistor , for measuring this transistor u may adjust ur multimeter to Diode Mode,[ the right Value will be: (first two pins = 0.000 , second two pins =0.000 , Third two pins = nearly over 600)]if Q3 is Damaged it will burn ur R120 after u replace it , so be sure that Q3 is ok before replacing R120 & u may also Check Transistor Q6 by the previous method to be completely sure it's safe to replace R120. Note: ( to be sure of The right values of these electronic components u may compare the values u have measured with the values of a working PCB's Components)

3- Check The Coils (such as L2 & L7) - adjust ur multimeter to diode mode then the right value must be ( 0.000 ) for any coil as u all know.

4- inspect the whole PCB for any removed component ( such as small capacitors or Resistors ) ... the removal of these small components may occured while forced cleaning of the PCB .... so becareful while cleaning it.

5- in rare cases the firmware microchip may be damaged.

the link below contains a high resolution image which shows all the electronic components I have mentioned above - i'm very sorry i couldn't upload it to this forum cause it's over than 512 KB.

1- clean the connection points which connect the head stack pins with the PCB using a pencil Rubber ...carefully.

2- clean the motor IC pins thoroughly using a solvent & Toothbrush then wipe it with a piece of smooth handkerchief to remove the dust & dirt from it.

-Note- the two steps mentioned above solve the problem in few cases.

3- if the two steps mentioned above didn't fix the problem , you have to replace the motor IC cause it's damaged.

-Note- in case of Motor ICs (L6278 1.7) & (L6278 1.2) first try to desolder them then resolder them again before u decide to replace them with a new ones ... this sometimes work , but if it didn't work ... replace them directly.- in case of Motor IC (Smooth 1.3) you must replace it directly.

The image below Shows you where to clean.

I hope this topic will be helpful for u all

any inquiries .... any new suggestions .... any criticism ... u all r welcome

Caution : it's Strongly Recommended To replace The Motor IC Directly when you are sure that it's damaged (I mean when it's damaged without any external symptoms like burns) ... even if it's (L6278 1.7) or (L6278 1.2) without any attempts with the Damaged IC (cause i think that trying to fix the problem by desoldering the damaged IC and resoldering it again (in case of Motor ICs (L6278 1.7) or (L6278 1.2) as i mentioned above) may damage the PCB when you power it on again with the damaged IC.(I Experienced that in rare Cases so i should tell you all to be aware of that )

yes Rameez that's right .... feeling IC heat is one of the most common methods to detect the Motor Ic Damage especially when the hard drive didn't respond after we power it on .... but when the motor IC is responsible for the Continuous Noise i think it's never got Hot and its' temperature will be normal although it's already damaged ... so we have to replace it.

Caution Don't Forget to ground yourself when you are working with HDD PCBs to avoid the risk of ESD (Electrostatic Discharge) Cause it may damage the PCB or even may affect the long term reliability and performance of its' components .... so ground yourself first before touching the PCB's Components.

Thanks for your fantastic article. However, I do not have an L-Shaped board and I'm having trouble finding some of the components you referred to. I have put a picture of my board at the following link; I'd be grateful if you could highlight the components on it and email it back to me. I will repost it there so that other people can refer to it too.

Hi Richard,The clicks in your drive can be 4 tings: faulty Pcb, Firmware, preamp/heads or scratched platters.You should try the Pcb first, that you do by: 1.Buy a new/used drive or Pcb of the same harddrive model you got (WD1200JB).2.Desolder the ROM chip (U12, red ring in the picture) on your old board.3.Replace the chip on the new board.4.Start up the drive and access your files.

If your drive still knocks or clicks after that, the problem is further down the line and not so easy to do without special tools.

Recently a power surge killed my hard drive. Drive doesn't spin up or detect in BIOS.A closer inspection revealed that the R120 and a STPA (what's that component?) has burned. Other components still looks Ok with root eyes.So, if R120 is burned, the drive won't spin up? What about STPA?Here is the photo of my PCB

I'm going to get a dead WD 40GB from a friend to get two of these component.

R120 acts like a fuse in marvell pcbs if any of the components burns it burns it self to prevent further damage . Replace STPA and check STPB as well and sometimes D3 the diode also gets damage check that too . If everything else is good replace the damaged components only .

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